Patriots Sign Kendrick Bourne

The 49ers never will replace those dance moves.

The 49ers just lost their best dancer who happens to be a good wide receiver, too.

Kendrick Bourne signed Monday afternoon with the New England Patriots on a three-year deal worth $22.5 million, according to the NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. 

Had the 49ers matched this Patriots offer and kept Bourne, he would have become by far the highest-paid wide receiver on the 49ers. So it's no wonder they let him go and signed cheaper free agents such as Kyle Juszczyk, Jason Verrett, Emmanuel Moseley and Samson Ebukam.

Because as good and dependable as Bourne is, he's only the third-best wide receiver on the 49ers when everyone is healthy -- Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk are better than him. And the 49ers can't spend nearly $8 million annually on a No. 3 wide receiver, when they want to use just two wide receivers as much as possible. So Bourne had to go.

But why to the Patriots? What do they see in him? Does he fit their scheme, or does he have good chemistry with a quarterback the Patriots might still want to trade for -- Jimmy Garoppolo? Hmmm.

Also, how do the 49ers plan to replace Bourne? He was their dependable possession receiver. He caught 11 touchdown passes since 2018 and missed only one game during that time, and that was due to a false-positive Covid 19 test result.

It's possible tight end Ross Dwelley could take Bourne's role in the red zone. But the 49ers still will need slot receivers.

They could use Richie James in that role. They also could use Jalen Hurd if he ever could stay healthy. They also can draft a slot receiver, which they almost certainly will do, because Shanahan drafts at least one wide receiver every year.

So sure, the 49ers can replace Bourne on the field.

But they never will replace those dance moves.

We'll miss you, Kendrick.